Game apparatus



' May 12, 1925. 31,537,809

E. C. EASTON GAME APPARATUS Filed April 10, 1924 W1 TNESSES IN VEN TOR1gb is ERNEST C Easgym A TTORNE YS central section if desired. Thecentral sec- Patented May 12, 1925.

UNITED STATES I 1,537,809 PATENT OFFICE.

ERNEST G. EASTON, OF MAPLEWOOD, NEW JERSEY.

omn APPARATUS.

Application filed April 10, 1924. Serial No. 705.588.

T all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ERNEST C. EASTON, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Maplewood, in the county of Essex and State of NewJersey, have invented a new ence to an apparatus to be utilised inplaying the 'game of golf.

An object of the invention is" to rovide an improved apparatus by meansQ Which 7 the golf player or players may practice and Another object isthe provision of an apparatus of simple and economical constructionprincipally adapted for indoor use and capable of not only forming apractical and effective means for practicing certain shots in the gameof golf, but also providin a medium which will permit of competitionbetween two or more players.

The above and other objects will appear more clearly from the followingdetailed de-' scription, when taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawing, which illustrates a preferred embodiment of the inventive idea.

In the drawing-- Figure 1 is a front elevation of the apparatusconstructed in accordance with the invention;

Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal section on the line 22 of Figure 1;and

Figure 3 is a rear elevation of the apparatus.

The invention is shown as consisting of an easel 4 which supports aframe including a central section .5 and two end sections6 preferablyhingedly connected to the endsection 5 so that the sections 6' may be adjusted to various angles with respect to the tion 5 is provided with anopening 7 while the front faces of the sections 6 are preferably paintedor otherwise provided with scenic illustrations to impart an attractiveappearance to the device. The front area of the section 5 is divided bythe lines 8 into two zones 9 and 10 the former of which surrounds theopening 7, said opening, zones and the end sections 6 being utilized forscoring purposes and being marked with numerals to indicate the score aplayer should have when he hits the ball into the opening or strikes inany one of the various zones.

The ball 11 employed is attached to a cord 12 or other flexible elementwhich is extended through an eye 13 on one of the supports of the easeland also through a similar eye 14" adjacent the top of said support.From thence the cord is extended across the rear of the central sectionand permanently attached at 15 to the opposite support. At a pointintermediate the eye 14 and point of attachment 15 a counterbalancingweight 16 is secured to the cord 12 so that when the ball 11 is placed aconsiderable distance in front of the apparatus-and then struck theweight 16 will take up the slack in the cord as t e ball approaches theapparatus and in so doing Wlll effectively prevent any deflection in theflight of the ball as is generally customary with known devices in whicha captive ball is employed.

In order that the ball 11 may be trapped after striking either of thesections 5 or 6, or passing through the opening 7. a net 17 made of anysuitable material is attached to the lower free extremities of thesections 6,

as indicated at 18,.so that when the sections 6 are in their operativepositions, as shown in the drawing, a portion of the net will besuspended beneath said sections and also the section 5. Another ortion19 of the net is extended upwardly in back of the section 5 to a pointabove the opening? therein and attached to said section so as to form astop for the ball if it passes through said opening, thus causing theball to drop into the bottom of the net 17 from which it may be readilywithdrawn and retracted through the opening 7 What is claimed is:

1. In a game apparatus, a frame, a flexible element having one endsecured to said frame, a ball secured to the other end of said element,and a counter weight carried by said flexible element and capable oftaking up slack in said flexible elementwhen said ball is hit towardsaid frame.

2. In a game apparatus, a frame, a flexible element having one endsecured to said frame, a ball secured to the other end of said element,a counter weight carried by said flexible element and capable of takingup slack in said flexible elementwhen said ball is hit toward saidframe, and a net suspended from said frame and into which said ball will;fall after striking said frame.

3. In a game apparatus, a frame including angularly arranged sectionsone of which is provided with an opening therein, a flexible elementhaving one end connected to said frame, a ball secured to the other end.of said flexible element, a counterbalancing weight attached to saidflexible element to take u 7 said ball is hit in the direction of thetrame, and a net having a portion suspended below the central section ofsaid frame and another portion extending rearwardly thereof to a pointabove the opening in said section.

.4. In a game apparatus, a frame includslack in said element when' ing acentral section having an opening therein, end sections pivotallyconnected to said central section and capable of being positionedangularly with respect thereto, a flexible element having one endsecured to said frame, and a portion adjacent said end extendedtransversely of the central section, guides for the intermediate portionof said flexible element, a ball secured to the oppo- -site end of saidflexible element, a counter weight secured to the portion of said flexi--blc element extending transversely of said central section, and a netsecured tosaid end sections and suspended below the same and saidcentral section and having a portion secured to said central section ata point above the opening therein.

ERNEST C. EASTON.

